Hawaiian Lawsuit Accuses Takata of Airbag Inflator Cover-Up

Hawaii has filed a $900 million state-level lawsuit claiming Takata Corp. covered up flaws in its airbag inflators that have been linked to 13 fatalities. The suit also names Honda Motor Co., whose vehicles were involved in 12 of the deaths.

The complaint claims Takata became aware in 2004 that its ammonium nitrate-powered inflators could misfire and explode but denied until 2013 any knowledge of the danger. The lawsuit asserts that Takata’s original inflator patent application described the propellant as “problematic” and “thermally unstable.”

The case also alleges that Honda was aware of the inflator problem, continued to use Takata devices anyway and has been slow to replace them. Nearly 69 million Takata inflators are being recalled by more than a dozen vehicle manufacturers in the U.S. alone. The risk of inflator failure appears to be highest in hot and humid climates such as Hawaii’s.

The state's suit estimates more than 70,000 vehicles in the state are equipped with flawed Takata airbag inflators, including 20,000 Honda models. It asks the court to impose the maximum civic fines of $10,000 per defendant for each violation.